Chronicles of the Cult
by Bard the Kiwi
Summary: How did Sec unite the Cult? How did Jast obtain the Genesis Ark? What happened to Thay at Canary Wharf? Who did Caan encounter in the time vortex? Four questions, four stories... four Daleks. Spoilers for Cult of Skaro-related episodes
1. SEC

**CHRONICLES OF THE CULT**

_**EPISODE ONE: SEC**_

Dalek Leader 625 glided through the ruins of a human city. He swung his eyestalk from left to right, surveying the carnage. Despite its origins, the city did not contain any humans.

Along the streets, shattered metallic globes lay in pieces, smoke rising from their casings. The Dalek spied each globe, determined its threat factor and carried on. Only twice did it fire at the globes to be sure they were dead. Total victory had been assured. The hostiles had not been worthy adversaries, although, as Dalek Leader 625 decided, proved valuable in readiness for what was to come.

As it trundled through the streets, it passed a sign. The sign read 'Welcome to Magella: City of Dreams'. Dalek Leader 625 didn't understand the concept, and carried on.

Finally, Dalek Leader 625 rounded a corner to find two further Daleks arriving from different directions. One of the two arrivals spoke first.

"Scan completed. No indication of surviving hostiles."

"Good" said Dalek Leader 625. "Proceed to the saucer. We leave in twenty rels."

"We obey" said the others, and all three levitated and headed off in the direction of the lake, which by now was strewn with debris from destroyed atmospheric flyers. Beyond the lake was a raised bit of land, and from here several Dalek saucers sat in wait.

All over the city, nearly two hundred Daleks flew back to the landing area. Dalek Leader 625 observed his army return to the ship. A Dalek broke off from the main bunch and joined him at the ramp to the largest saucer.

"Report" he said.

"Total success" replied the drone. "All resistance has been crushed. The Mechonoids were exterminated."

"Good. Proceed inside. We are to advance to Tralaxia to exterminate the local population."

"I obey" he said, and proceeded inside. Dalek Leader 625 watched them go, then turned and ascended the ramp as it began to raise.

As he entered the command deck, six Daleks took their positions around the room, putting their extenders into place. Dalek Leader 625 felt the saucer tilt slightly and lift off, and proceeded to take his place at the centre of the room.

"Activate temporal core" he said, locking himself to the platform.

Outside, the massive saucer lead the fleet into space. A blue vortex appeared in front of them, and the fleet entered the time corridor.

Inside the lead ship, Dalek Leader 625 received a transmission.

"Receiving your signal" it said.

"The Emperor has ordered you to return to Skaro immediately."

"We obey" said the Dalek Leader 625, and the screen when blank.

"Alter course to Skaro" it said to a Dalek nearby. "Adjust coordinates for Skaro, present time zone."

Outside, the fleet carried on as a new tube of blue light branched away from the main corridor, and the single saucer disappeared through it.

- I - I - I -

The Dalek ship left the time corridor and approached the red planet directly ahead. The saucer passed through the energy barrier surrounding Skaro and sent a signal to the waiting defence satellites, as to avoid being shot down. Behind the barrier, shielded from space and other prying eyes were millions of Dalek saucers. Warships, Warhammers and Nightingale Crushers sat in orbit, slowly being refuelled and stocked with Dalek foot soldiers.

The saucer broke through the atmosphere and landed in the space port. As Dalek Leader 625 disembarked he noted the sheer number of Daleks being loaded into the saucers, and then the sheer number of saucers gathering. The reports were true. The Time War was about to commence.

In the main citadel, Dalek Leader 625 passed Dalek after Dalek preparing for war. He entered an elevator and dropped over seventy levels into the bowels of the planet. He emerged to a singular massive dome-shaped cavern, and if anything was busier than above ground. Squads of Daleks flew overhead heading for their destinations. Instructions relaying information could be heard over loud speakers.

Dalek Leader 625 barely acknowledged and all but ignored all of these 'distractions', for at the centre of the room was what he sought.

The massive hovering shape of the Dalek Emperor.

"I am here" it said, looking up at the immense creature before it. The massive eyestalk turned towards it.

"It has been decided your time as leader of the Seventh Incursion Squad is over."

"I obey" it said, not sure what the promotion would be to. The Squad was already highly ranked in the Dalek echelon. Perhaps a promotion to a Supreme Dalek.

"You will be in charge of a new faction of Dalek. Observe."

The Emperor's eyestalk swung round as four additional Daleks arrived. Dalek Leader 625 moved to join them.

"Your part in the Time war has been altered" continued the Emperor. "You will report to engineering level twelve to upgrade and debriefing."

With that the Dalek Emperor swung his eyestalk away from the five waiting Daleks, and back to surveying the rest of the cavern's activities. The five turned and took an elevator out of the cavern.

- I - I - I -

Dalek Leader 625 came online after being offline for two hundred and ninety three rels. He scanned his internal systems and discovered a vast range of improvements. The most notable being an internal time travel mechanism. Analysis of the device indicated it would drain his motive power core significantly and would require a lengthy recharge cycle, yet it would be handy in a crisis. He also saw a marked improvement in his Dalekanium shell, more powerful weapons fire and increased shields. Further, after running a diagnostic on his biological self, he noted an increased chemical quotient within his own body. A different upgrade altogether he thought to himself; his very flesh had been altered too.

He detected a change in readings from his external shell sensors. They registered a higher than normal attraction to ambient temperature from the room. He calibrated them and as he turned to enter the external diagnostic chamber he spotted why the sensors had behaved as they did.

He was black.

Gone was his gold and bronze casing, replaced with a shiny gloss finish. Dalek Leader 625 was pleased with himself. After years of service, he was now amongst the elite of the Daleks. A Supreme-level commander.

He turned back to the rest of the room. The four Daleks that had accompanied him from the cavern were by now all emerging from their slumber. Three of them remained gold in colour.

The fourth was also black.

"Report" said Dalek Leader 625.

"Upgrades completed" said the Dalek on the left. "All systems online."

"System status registering minor fluctuations in power grid" said the one next to him. "Correcting."

The other Black Dalek rolled forward. "All Daleks report to grid zeta for debriefing", and left the room. The three gold Daleks followed, lastly by Dalek Leader 625.

- I - I - I -

In an empty dome-shaped room, the five Daleks entered and took up even spacing around a floating holographic globe in the centre of the room. The globe shimmered and was replaced by an image of the Emperor. The design allowed the Emperor to view everyone in the room at once, and each Dalek could see the Emperor face on.

"Speak" he said.

Dalek Leader 625 saw the other Black Dalek move forward.

"We are ready for assignment" the Black Dalek said.

"You are here because you have each shown great skills in various fields. The master race commends you on your efforts. However, in this, the final war against the Time Lords, we must be vigilant."

Dalek Leader 625 was shocked. Never before had it heard of the Emperor mention anything other than total victory. Why were the Daleks changing that now?

"To that end I have created you" said the Emperor. "You will become an advanced army. More powerful than any Dalek before or since. You will dream of new ways of exterminating."

Dalek Leader 625 noticed that word again. Dream. Such a word didn't exist in the Dalek language. He noticed the other Daleks in the room looking equally as perplexed. Dalek Leader 625 suddenly became aware of access to a new database.

The Emperor's personal database.

It referenced a terminology amongst many weaker species as a process of viewing mental images whilst in hibernation. While the concept was irrelevant, Dalek leader 625 delved further, all the while listening to the Emperor speak.

The Emperor continued. "You must think as the enemy thinks, breathe as they breathe. Analyse, experiment and exterminate in new ways."

Dalek Leader 625 accessed further meaning of the word, and learned the process of dreaming could apply to random thought patterns associated with logical thought. Adjusting the way parameters lie in conjunction with the borders of what is considered pure. Dalek Leader 625 pressed further.

"Emperor" said the Black Dalek. "Why are there two Black Daleks in this squad. Who has authority?"

"Decide amongst yourselves. That is part of the squad's existence. The Time War is your playground. You must adapt as you see fit. Do not fail, or you will be exterminated."

"We obey" chorused the Daleks, as the Emperor faded from view.

Dalek Leader 625 was by now engrossed in a multitude of cross-world and cross-time dreams. It was fascinating. Other species could comprehend such concepts whilst Daleks could not. Dalek leader 625 finally understood why they had to adapt. They needed to change. This was an extremely powerful weapon, although could see why it had been kept from the rest of Dalek civilisation. Such thoughts would be considered blasphemous.

"We must begin planning at once" began the Black Dalek. "We must strike at the heart of Gallifrey before the Time War commences. We can assassinate the High Council before they have a chance to fight!"

"No."

All eyestalks swung on Dalek Leader 625.

"We must prepare ourselves first. We do not yet... have names."

Dalek Leader 625 continued exploring further and further into the Emperor's database that he had been granted access to. Species allowed themselves individual identities separate from the greater population of their species, although some did overlap in various social and hierarchical circles. An individual identity was again another unknown subject. The Emperor and Davros were the exception, otherwise a Dalek would be identified only by rank.

The Black Dalek couldn't believe the last comment. "You are out of line. Names are irrelevant. We must attack before the Time Lords-"

"No" said Dalek Leader 625, who didn't really know where he was going himself. "We must adapt and evolve, and first that means within ourselves. We are the first of a new breed of Dalek. I order us to select names."

"That is not-" began the Black Dalek, but was interrupted.

"We have the ability to see beyond what is Dalek. We will crush the lesser races but first we must change. I am Dalek Sec."

The four other Daleks in the room fell silent. In all of Dalek history, no Dalek ever did anything without consultation with the Emperor.

"Station Alpha Commandant, you are now Dalek Thay. Force Leader Sixteen, you are now Dalek Jast. Attack Squad Leader Green, you are now Dalek Caan. Ninth Garrison Commissioner, you are Dalek Rabe."

"I do not agree with your ideas" said Dalek Rabe, turning to face Dalek Sec fully. "The Emperor will not approve of this."

"We are above the Emperor" said Dalek Sec, and given how Dalek Rabe was shaking in his casing, he wasn't happy.

Dalek Sec was happy with his names. His research had taken him into a place formerly considered taboo in Dalek society – their own history. He was now learning about the Kaleds, of the Thals and of the time before the nuclear wars. Their original ancestors, the Dals, used to worship deities that lived in orbit or in subterranean dwellings beneath the surface of Skaro. Of these, he chose five names which would suit their new army. Then he began deciding what to call their army...

"This is irrelevant!" screamed Dalek Rabe. "You do not have authority over this squad."

"We do not have a leader, only the Emperor. He has entrusted us with leading the Daleks to victory."

"Then we will ask him."

Dalek Rabe turned to a wall unit and pressed his extender against an outlet. After a few seconds, the globe was again replaced with a form of the Emperor.

"Who dares interrupt me?" he said.

"Dalek Leader 625 is instigating a rebellion. He is vowing to become more powerful that you."

The Emperor turned his eyestalk sideways to Dalek Sec, who moved forward.

"We are ready" said Dalek Sec.

The Emperor looked back to Dalek Rabe, then the image faded away.

"The Emperor did not listen" said Dalek Rabe, looking around the room. The other Daleks were silent, then all looked to Dalek Sec. Dalek Sec assumed the three were accessing the Emperor's database as he had, and were now up to speed.

"This squad is now active" said Dalek Caan, looking at the others.

"Victory is assured" said Dalek Thay.

"The Time Lords will fall" said Dalek Jast.

"We cannot change" said Dalek Rabe, pulling back, his eye stalk flicking between the four other Daleks in the room. "I do not obey" he said, moving backwards towards the exit. The four Daleks moved towards him in a row, now allied as a group and unified with one goal in mind; victory.

"You are not suitable to join the squad" said Dalek Sec, levelling his weapon at Dalek Rabe.

"This squad is irrelevant! YOU ARE ALL IRRELEVANT!"

"EXTERMINATE" said Dalek Sec. He fired at Dalek Rabe.

Dalek Rabe screamed as his casing was ripped open, searing the flesh from his body as his shell electronics exploding around him. The other three Daleks looked at their fallen comrade, and then to Dalek Sec.

"We will become greater than the Empire. The Emperor wants nothing less than total victory, so we shall hand it to him."

The room began to shake as the sound of plasma engines powering up could be heard.

"We must return to the surface" said Dalek Sec, already on his way out of the room.

"We obey" said the trio behind him, who slowly followed him out.

- I - I - I -

On the surface of Skaro, the four Daleks watched as the massive fleet lifted off and began generating their own time corridors. Three kilometres away, the massive form of the Emperor's flagship lifted off from a large crater, and disappeared after the fleet.

Dalek Sec looked away from the vanishing fleet back to the saucer space port. A single saucer had remained behind for them to use.

Dalek Sec turned to face his newly-formed squad.

"We will join our brethren soon enough. We must prepare. Time is eternal. The Time Lords fear the Daleks. They will tremble even further when they encounter... the Cult of Skaro."

_**NEXT EPISODE: JAST**_


	2. JAST

**CHRONICLES OF THE CULT**

_**EPISODE TWO: JAST**_

From the moment the device reached the surface, everything went bright. The Nightingale Crusher hit the ground at relativistic speeds, tearing through the crust and into the mantle of the planet. Generators within stirred and whined and instantly became what it was born to be. In an instant, all matter within a 50,000 kilometre radius was turned into energy. Rock, metal, organic material; all became brighter than a star.

Then, the Crusher began to spin, drawing in all energy it had created, spinning faster and faster, increasing its mass exponentially until finally it collapsed under the weight of itself.

The temporal supernova tore through time itself, stripping away past, present and future, all that ever was, and all that will be. The entire area of space up to three light years across was obliterated.

TARDIS and WARDIS vessels didn't stand a chance. A few managed to dematerialize but most were vapourised.

Aboard a Dalek saucer, four Daleks witnessed the destruction from the safety of a time bubble.

"Arcadia has fallen" said Dalek Sec. "Alert the Emperor. The path is clear. The final battle can now commence."

"I obey" said Dalek Thay, and turned to a console.

"Gallifrey will fall! The Daleks will be victorious!" continued Dalek Sec.

While three of the Daleks celebrated, Dalek Jast was busy at the back of the room. He had two experiments working at once. The first was an experimental vessel capable of travelling between universes. The other would allow them to survive what the Emperor referred to as The Moment, should the Time Lords ever use it.

Jast checked and rechecked his settings, and believed he was correct. It would work. Should work. Despite this, he doubted nay hoped he would never use it.

Hope. A bizarre concept, one he had been struggling with since joining the Cult. Essentially a forward thought that a positive outcome would be assured regardless of effort put into making that happen, or events beyond your control would turn in your favour. Jast felt it wasn't it the best interests of the Daleks to 'hope' for a favourable outcome.

Dalek Jast turned a few dials and all indicators flashed a favourable green. "Success" he said.

Dalek Sec turned to face him. "Report."

"Primary analysis indicates Void ship ready for testing. Once the Time War has been won we shall be able to travel between dimensions and conquer unlimted worlds."

"Good" said Dalek Sec. "What is the status of the Temporal Dungeon?"

"Also ready for testing. I have devised a plan to trap a small world ninety three parsecs from our present location."

"Dalek Caan, alter course to target coordinates specified."

Dalek Caan turned and inserted his extender into the helm console. The ship jumped from normal space into a Time Corridor.

"Once we have arrived at our destination we will test fire the Temporal Dungeon" said Jast, "we will be able to contain worlds within the time lock and exterminate without any interference from the Time Lords."

"Good" said Dalek Sec, turning to Dalek Caan. "Time to target?"

"We are arriving… now."

The Dalek saucer emerged from the time corridor and approached a ringed world.

In the command room, Dalek Caan was monitoring the battle.

"The Emperor has begun the final assault on Gallifrey. Nightingale Crushers are powering up."

"We will witness the-" but Dalek Sec couldn't finish his words.

"Alert! Full alert initiated!" yelled Dalek Thay.

"Report" yelled Dalek Sec.

"Instability detected at the centre of the Eye of Harmony" said Dalek Thay.

"It is the Moment the Emperor predicted!" yelled Dalek Sec.

The four Daleks watched as the energy surrounding the Eye of Harmony was slowly draining in on itself.

"Estimated critical mass will be achieved in a matter of rels" said Dalek Thay. "Explosive output cannot be calculated."

"The Dalek race will be extinct but the Time Lords will die with us" said Dalek Sec.

"What if any survive?" asked Dalek Jast.

The other three Daleks fell silent. That outcome hadn't been considered.

"We must ensure the future of the Dalek race does not end here! We must hunt down any Time Lord survivors!" ordered Dalek Sec.

Dalek Jast plunged his extender into a console. Power hummed all throughout the ship. On the screen, a blue line representing a powerful energy field began to envelope the Dalek ship and the planet below.

"Temporal Dungeon activated" said Dalek Jast.

Outside, the entire galaxy seemed to light up all at once. The Eye of Harmony reached critical mass and sent out a dimensional shockwave that obliterated everything in it's path. Gallifrey, Skaro and any other planet within the time lock were instantly incinerated. Fleets from both sides attempted to jump into the time vortex but were torn apart before they had a chance.

As the energy wave struck the Temporal Dungeon, the barrier held in place. Jast heard the generators struggling to repel the destruction of the micro-universe outside, but his calculations were correct; they could survive for a short time while they made their escape.

And Dalek Jast was prepared for this too.

"Energy levels beyond maximum" said Dalek Thay. "Barrier will collapse in less than 500 rels."

"Prepare for transmat" yelled Dalek Jast, and initiated a command on the console. The four Daleks and a small device in the cargo hold of the saucer instantly left the ship, and reappeared a few rels later on the surface of the planet.

"Sensors detect enemy base in vacinity" said Dalek Sec.

"Records indicate this area was a quarantine for Dalek prisoners of war" said Dalek Thay.

"Dalek Caan, Dalek Thay, you will continue work on the Void ship" said Dalek Sec. "Dalek Jast, we will attempt to free Dalek prisoners before the barrier collapses."

Caan and Thay turned to the crate that had accompanied them to the surface and transmitted an activation signal. The crate unfolded and a golden disc appeared. Within rels, it had grown into a giant golden sphere, roughly six metres across. Initially translucent, the small vessel began to solidify.

By then however, Dalek Sec and Dalek Jast had already departed.

- I - I - I -

Two Time Lords were working in the main control room of the base when the Moment occurred. Both had stared at the monitor for ages, attempting to comprehend what had just taken place.

They had seen the Moment, the last ditch attempt to destroy the Daleks and everyone within the Time Lock should the war look to be going the way of Skaro. The Eye of Harmony would be cracked open and the energy of time itself be allowed to flood all of creation. On many worlds, such a flood is mentioned in religious books and scriptures, and the Time Lords felt a historical irony their own deaths would reflect a moment of universal rebirth.

But then the expected death hadn't arrived. The two Time Lords didn't feel the wave of energy obliterate their bodies, didn't allow them the satisfaction of passing into the next world with their brethren.

They were even more surprised when the secure hatch at the front of the base was blown inward, and sensors warned two Daleks had breached the perimeter. One of the Tme Lords fled as they entered the room. The other decided to fight to the last and grab a weapon. Before the could level it at the Dalek, it fired, striking a glancing blow across his chest and abdomin. The Time Lord collapsed to the ground and began to regenerate.

"I will remain here" ordered Dalek Sec. "You will find prisoners."

"I obey" said Dalek Jast, and turned for the door. As he reached the corridor, he turned back to watch Dalek Sec roll towards the Time Lord. The regeneration was almost complete, and Sec watched him silently, with devious intent. Once the energy had settled, the Time Lord sat up, now much younger than before, holding his head, and instantly saw Dalek Sec bearing over him.

Dalek Sec fired again, again not killing the poor Time Lord, and triggering yet another regeneration.

Dalek Jast left the room and trundled down the corridor. Jast wasn't happy.

Dalek Sec was copying his idea.

When Jast lead a platoon of foot soldiers at the Gates of Elysia, he used the very same technique on captured Time Lords. Not allowing them to die with dignity, Jast would blast them with only enough firepower to force a regeneration, and would do so again and again until the Time Lord simply expired.

Dalek Jast arrived at the room at the far end of the corridor and looked around. Inside, he saw the walls of the rooms were lined with rounded cone-shaped devices, slightly larger than a Dalek. There were twelve in all, each fed with umbilical cords that snaked down from the ceiling.

They were Dalek prison cells.

To his right, the other Time Lord was entering a code into a console. Jast detected a power surge building up from the cables in the ceiling, and decided to act.

Jast turned and fired at the umbilicals above the nearest prison cell, severing them from the roof. He was too low in removing the eleven other cells, which had received their fatal energy surge.

Jast turned to the Time Lord and fired. Given the time remaining he had no option but to kill him outright, thinking it would have been enjoyable to have watched a Time Lord to regenerate to death one last time.

All at once the cells began to shake, energy surged through the outer casing and two of them caught fire. Then, one by one, they began to bulge outward with sudden impacts from within, faster and faster until the casings themselves began to fail. A cell on the far side of the room developed a small crack. Dalek Jast had to turn his audio receptors down as the screams of millions of Daleks dying all at once breached the cells.

Jast accessed the control unit of the cell he'd managed to save and ordered it to levitate. The simplicity of this action caught Jast by surprise; Time Lord technology was generally impossible to access, but he had an assumption as to why. Many Time Lord ships were powered from the Eye of Harmony itself, and now that it had been destroyed much of their technology was up for grabs.

"Report" said Dalek Sec from the other room.

"One prison cell acquired. No further cells will be viable."

"We must evacuate immediately. Dalek Caan reports Dalek saucer destruction imminent."

Jast ordered the cell to leave the room. As Dalek Jast passed through the arching doorway, he heard movement from behind him. He swung his eyestalk behind him.

The Time Lord was climbing back up, and reached for a button on the console.

Jast spun his central section and targetted the console with maximum firepower. Both the Time Lord and the console vanished in a firery explosion. In the back of the room, one of the cells had started to split open. Pieces of crushed Dalek fell to the floor. Jast now understood what was happened.

The cells were inert TARDIS shells, designed to be bigger on the inside than the out, but other than that, no other function was implicated. They were being used to hold Dalek prisoners – lots of them – inside the cells, using the dimensional properties of a TARDIS to gather them up. But now, the Time Lord had sent a signal to disable the dimensional controls, and the cells were trying to occupy the same real-space dimensions the outer casing held. The resulting action was literally crushing the Daleks inside.

Jast hurried down the corrdidor, not wishing to think about the extermination of his brethren. Dalek Sec turned to greet him, then both of them ushered the cell out onto the surface of the moon. Jast noticed the charred remains on the floor where the Time Lord once lay. Clearly Dalek Sec had become bored with regenerating the enemy.

On the surface both Daleks flew as fast at they could back to the others. When they cleared one final ridge they could see the Void ship had been completely assembled, a little over a kilometre away. Dalek Caan and Dalek Thay waited in the open space of the ship. Overhead, Jast detected explosions and looked up.

The Dalek saucer finally succumbed to the force of the Moment and had begun to disintegrate.

Sec and Jast threw the last of their energy reserves into their elevation units, keeping the cell in front of them all the way. Dalek Caan had activated the Void ship and it began to close its hatch. Sec, Jast and the cell altered their configuration and rolled sideways, compensating for gravity changes.

Overhead, the Dalek saucer exploded, allowing the full force of the dimensional shockwave to approach and begin devouring the planet.

Sec and Jast cleared the last of the area between them and the ship and entered, just as the shell of the ship slammed shut. Thay activated the engines, and the Void ship silently slipped into the darkness, while everything in real space ceased to be.

- I - I - I -

The four Daleks stood around the cell monitoring it for damage.

"Prison cell is intact" said Jast.

"Good" said Sec. "Dalek Jast, your actions have saved the Dalek empire from extinction. You will be commended once the empire is restored."

"I obey" said Jast.

"Do we open the prison cell?" asked Dalek Thay.

"No" said Dalek Sec, "the cell contains millions of Daleks requiring an area of 12.7 million square miles. There is not enough room inside the Void ship to accommodate everyone."

"We will not be able to open it anyway" said Jast, completing one last scan.

"Explain" ordered Sec.

"The Time Lord guarding the cell activated a safety measure before I could exterminate him. Organic textile contact is required. Specifically organic material which has been exposed to temporal radiation."

"We must locate a planet outside the Time War in order to open the cell" said Sec. "Records indicate the Time Lord known as the Doctor travelled to a small planet called Earth. It is conceivable associates of the Doctor may have traveled through time with him. We must track them down."

"We obey" said the other three Daleks.

"Dalek Sec…" began Jast.

"Yes?" asked Sec.

"We should alter the designation of the cell. Whilst we can not open it, a 'cell' still implies it is Time Lord in origin."

"Suggest something" ordered Dalek Sec.

Dalek Jast searched the Emperor's database. Topics of rebirth and regeneration were common. Jast decided to access records pertaining to Earth, considering that is where they were heading. He scanned through documents on various scientific papers, fictional stories and religious scripture, until finally he found a suitable term.

"Genesis Ark."

The other three Daleks searched the database for the same term, finding the two words were appropriate for the cell.

"I concur" said Dalek Sec. "We must protect the Genesis Ark above all other priorities. Set course for Earth."

"I obey" said Caan, who sent a signal to the Void ship's main computer.

"We will succeed" said Jast, looking at his associates, before finally turning his attention to the Ark itself. "We will prevail..."

_**NEXT EPISODE: THAY**_


	3. THAY

**CHRONICLES OF THE CULT**

_**EPISODE THREE: THAY**_

_I wish I'd come to Earth sooner_ Thay thought to himself.

Wishing was a strange concept to a Dalek. He considered it with the same bizarre fascination as he did hope. A simple verbal request to create an event in order to produce the desired outcome seemed a pointless endeavour.

But now, he could understand the concept a little better from what was about to unfold in front of him. Dalek Sec had just elevated out of the opened roof of the storage warehouse right underneath Torchwood One, which the normal humans of the world called Canary Wharf. Sec had taken with him one of the few artefacts salvaged from the Time War – the last remaining prison ship constructed by the Time lords in a bid to entomb Daleks. Dalek Jast had lead a trip to recover the device as the time lock was collapsing in on itself, and now it would bring about their salvation.

The Time Lords fitted the prison ship with a lock that prevented Daleks from opening it, and only someone organic that had travelled through time could open it with a single touch. Now, thanks to one of the foolish humans helping the Doctor, the prison ship – which had since been renamed the Genesis Ark – was about to release its prisoners.

Thay, Jast and Caan watched as Sec took the Ark high above the city. There, they saw it open up, and millions of Daleks began pouring from it. Daleks grouped into attacking formations and began exterminating humans and Cybermen below. Thay found it interesting that of all the time periods the Cybermen would chose to invade this Earth from this dimension, it would be when they were beginning to invade themselves. Even without the assistance of their brothers streaming from the Ark high above the human city known as London, the four members of the Cult of Skaro would easily have been able to destroy the Cybermen army.

As Thay watched, Dalek Daan turned to face him.

"Signal intercepted from Torchwood sub-control station to military bases around England" said Caan. "They have requested immediate air support to destroy Dalek patrols."

Dalek Thay looked up again at the sky, darkened now from all the Daleks above them. Overhead, the Genesis Ark continued to spew Dalek after Dalek from within. Thay knew any human vessel would be no match for a Dalek, however, judging by the ad hoc alliance set up between the Doctor and the Cybermen, and from the technology visible in the Torchwood warehouse behind them, they shouldn't take anything for granted.

At that moment, Torchwood and Cybermen soldiers burst from behind crates and barrels and began firing at them again.

"Remain here and deal with human aggressors" said Thay, "I will take care of the human aircraft personally."

"It is understood" said Dalek Caan, who turned and blasted three Cybermen in quick succession.

Dalek Thay elevated then took off at speed through the still-open roof.

- I - I - I -

Dalek Thay detected of the first of the fighters heading towards him. They were identified as four Panavia Tornado's. No projected energy weapons or temporal devices were detected. Thay powered up his shields and accelerated.

The fighters came in fast and split off, heading away to loop around and, as Thay predicted, attack all at once. The humans clearly felt a single Dalek posed no threat, and would test themselves against him before moving on to the growing dark cloud over the centre of London.

Thay decided to level the odds first. He turned and tracked the nearest plane when suddenly his sensors picked up three incoming projectiles fired at him. The projectiles didn't register as nuclear or biological in nature, and all systems indicated his combat shell would survive an impact.

Thus, as the missiles homed in, he decided to simply do nothing.

The trio of missiles impacted on his left side, throwing up a fireball which temporarily obscured him from their view. On the human monitoring system known as radar, Thay thought he and the fireball would be merged as one, and no doubt the humans would be celebrating their victory.

Thay decided he'd had enough playing, and wanted to exterminate something. Still targeting the nearest plane, he switched his weapon from pulse to beam and fired.

A turquoise blast tore out of the dissipating fireball and hit the Tornado, slicing in cleanly in two just aft of the cockpit. One of the pilots managed to eject, who Thay immediately exterminated.

Then, rotating his central section, Thay destroyed the two planes coming up quickly behind him.

Thay located the last plane, which by now had turned to flee – _weak_ he thought. It ramped up it's engines until it was going Mach 2.147. Thay decided to show them what a Dalek could really do. He energised his rear globes on his skirt section, and triggered a tachyon pulse, causing them to glow red hot. Then in a single instant, Thay shot away at near lightspeed and arrived 3.2 seconds later a few hundred miles away.

The pilots of the last plane didn't have time to scream. By the time they saw Thay had overtaken them he was already firing, and turned their plane to little pieces of shrapnel.

Looking back, he could see Daleks spreading further afield, targeting towns and villages outside London. Any resistance was dealt with quickly and ruthlessly.

Dalek Thay turned and saw he was a few miles from an air force base. He targeted the base and fired. Even from here, he managed to destroy most of the planes on the ground before they had a chance to take off. One plane on the runway had already built up such speed that it couldn't avoid an emergency landing. Thay fired, clipping its tail, shattering the aileron and causing it veer violently sideways. The plane collided with the control tower before the pilot had chance to eject.

- I - I - I -

Thay felt a sudden twinge in his altitude control. His power output was insufficient to maintain present velocity and height. Thay compensated and carried on. A few seconds later, the alarms returned. Thay investigated further and found himself to be caught in a gravity well of some sort. Thay became alarmed; humans of this era didn't possess such a device, and a quick inventory of Torchwood devices didn't pick up anything that generate this kind of disturbance.

Thay turned back towards the city, and instantly froze.

The Dalek 'cloud' was getting smaller. Daleks were flying back towards the top of Canary Wharf. Had the Doctor managed to reverse their lock on the Genesis Ark and began pulling all Daleks into it again?

The pull was becoming too great. Thay allotted as much energy as it could spare and began trying to pull away in the other direction.

More fault indicators flared up and a control failure in his casing caused him to lose his battle with the pull of whatever it was that was attacking the Daleks. Thay began drifting back towards London.

At that moment, Dalek Sec was heard, "Emergency Temporal Shift!"

Thay remembered it being installed but had never used it. Sec wouldn't issue the order unless the Doctor had found some way to defeat them and the Daleks couldn't fight back. On his monitor, Dalek Sec's beacon vanished from the screen.

Two Daleks flew past Thay out of control and towards Canary Wharf. Thay had a sudden horrible realisation that only the Cult of Skaro had been fitted with time jump mechanisms; standard Daleks wouldn't be able to escape from the Doctor's weapon.

"Dalek Caan, report" asked Thay.

"The Doctor has opened the rift. All Daleks are falling into the Void. Retreat!"

Dalek Caan vanished from his monitor.

Dalek Thay continued to try and fight the pull of the rift, which by now had consumed half the Dalek army. All around him, Daleks and Cybermen filled the skies and were being pulled in to their deaths. Dalek Thay tried again and again to get more output. Suddenly a major error was reported in a primary system.

_EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT OFFLINE_ it read.

Thay suddenly realised he had a serious problem. He screamed inside his casing as he continued to accelerate towards certain death. Faster and faster he went, beginning to tumble end over end. Several thousand Daleks per second were being cast into the Void and oblivion.

On his monitor, Dalek Jast vanished. _At least three of them will make it_ he thought.

Dalek Thay tried desperately to repair the damaged component. The shape of Canary Wharf tower loomed ever closer, as a Cyberman smacked into his casing, causing him to accelerate further.

As he came closer to the building, Dalek Thay attempted to grab onto the side of it using the remaining power in his maglock at the base of his casing. The force of the impact almost ripped his eyestack off. Certainly the building was damaged considerably, with plaster and brick sent tumbling to the ground below.

For a few seconds he was able to cling to it, giving himself valuable time needed to restore the Temporal Shift. Then, the side of the building itself began to give way, pulling him inwards towards the tower. Thay put the last of his energy reserves into fighting the force of the rift as thousands of Daleks hurtled past him at tremendous speeds. Slowly being pulled back however, Thay could finally see into the main room.

The Doctor was holding onto a magnetic lock at the rear of the room. The white-haired female that had earlier claimed to have slain the Dalek Emperor was precariously holding onto a lever on the opposite side of the room. Both of them were fighting the pull of the rift as well. Thay realised the Doctor must've risked his own life – and that of the female – to destroy the Daleks.

Thay checked his weaponry system but did not have enough power to fire. Everything had been shunted to his elevation unit which was working beyond the maximum recommended levels. Thay saw they were finally dying out. With a whine he felt his elevation unit begin to fail, and with it all chance of surviving.

Then, when Thay truly believed he would be killed like the rest of his species, his onboard terminal permitted him to observe what it must be like to see a wish come true.

_EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT REPAIRED_.

Thay knew he had a matter of seconds left before he would fall into the rift. A quick check of the system revealed he didn't have enough energy to use it. He needed power from elsewhere. He checked whatever systems that were still functional to draw from, but there were none.

Only his elevation unit remained.

Thay knew it would take a couple of seconds to transfer the power but he had to risk it. Setting everything in place, Thay deactivated his elevation unit, and sent everything he had left, including life support, to his time jump mechanism.

Joining the final hundred or so Daleks, Thay felt a sudden shift of acceleration towards the rift. At the last possible second, Thay acknowledged his temporal shift activate, and he was ghosted away.

- I - I - I -

Thay re-emerged into the time vortex and began tracking his brothers. He picked up three weak signals and plotted a course. After only a few rels he was able to contact them and explain what had happened.

"Understood. Sending new time coordinates. Prepare for shift back into normal space" said Dalek Sec, who suddenly vanished from the vortex. Jast and Caan disappeared too, and once Thay had programmed the coordinates in, Thay vanished after his brothers.

- I - I - I -

Over a river sometime after midnight, Thay was observing himself in the water's reflection. His now repaired elevation unit was keeping him airborne a few metres above the water.

"Dalek Thay, you must conceal yourself immediately" said Dalek Sec, who emerged from behind an empty warehouse.

Thay obeyed, and landed on the wharf, following Sec back behind the warehouse and through a grating in the wall, leading to the sewers that ran under New York city.

"We must not draw attention to ourselves" said Dalek Sec as they reached a t-junction. Dalek Caan was waiting.

"This time period is primitive" continued Sec, "any unwanted attention may generate a historical record, which the Doctor may be able to track. Come, we must prepare the gamma strike antennae."

"I obey" said Thay.

Dalek Sec trundled off down the sewers. Dalek Caan approached Dalek Thay, who hand't moved and was keeping his eyestalk on the Black Dalek.

"You were outside again" said Caan.

"Yes. I was observing my casing one last time."

Caan stopped moving and studied Thay.

"Your panels will be restored once the final experiment is over" said Caan.

"The final experiment" said Thay, almost with disgust. "Dalek Sec is misguided if he believes our reliance on the humans will succeed."

"There are only four-"

"I am aware of that. Dalek Sec is keen to experiment with himself. He is becoming... non-Dalek. We must be cautious."

"I am aware" said Dalek Caan, swinging his eyestalk down the tunnel after Dalek Sec. He swung back, Thay brought his eyestalk to meet Caan's gaze, both locked in silent but mutual understanding.

"If Dalek Sec continues down this path then we remaining Daleks must act" said Dalek Thay. "Should Dalek Sec lose sight of our ultimate goal, then I will exterminate him personally."

Thay watched as Caan disappeared down the tunnel.

Thay heard noises from the world above, of people talking abut the large building being built above them. _It must be crawling with humans_ he thought to himself.

As he went back down the sewers after the others, two thoughts crossed his mind. The first was very specific about his immediate future.

_I'm going to lose my panels. I'm not going to be perfect anymore._

The other thought was more general.

_I wish I'd never come to Earth in the first place. _

_**NEXT EPISODE: CAAN**_


	4. CAAN

**CHRONICLES OF THE CULT**

_**EPISODE FOUR: CAAN**_

_I should have fired_ he thought to himself, as he sped along the time vortex. His greatest enemy, the Doctor, had not once but twice offered himself for extermination during their last encounter, and yet despite this, three of his associates were dead. _Worse still_ thought Caan, _I might be the last of my species_.

Dalek Caan had barely escaped from the primitive Earth time period of early twentieth century America. The Doctor had managed to foil their plan for using humans as Dalek slaves. The Dalek DNA planned for the humans had been transplanted for Time Lord DNA, and thus the humans had to be exterminated. His previous leader, Dalek Sec, had even combined his DNA with a human in a bid to create the next evolution of the species.

Unfortunately, Dalek Sec simply became an abomination that had to die. And he had.

Now Dalek Caan was alone. His power cells needed recharging and he chose to use the power from the time vortex itself as a source. While traveling along the vortex he contemplated what to do next. Out amongst the real world, there was nothing. The Emperor's database had shown him the wonders that existed in the universe, be it mortal, non-corporeal or deity, but ultimately it only served in increasing Dalek Caan's xenophobia.

Whatever time period, whatever planet there would always be something waiting for him, something he hated, something he despised. He had to escape. He had to be with his own kind.

But they were gone. Dead. Destroyed by the Time Lords.

_By Him_.

He couldn't even think his name anymore. The one who had, in a single instance, exterminated the Daleks from existence. Caan knew no matter how hard he tried he would never be able to defeat the Doctor, or at the very least, by himself.

Thus Dalek Caan had decided to risk everything. To take a chance and try to find more Daleks. Try to find a way to do what very few beings had ever done, or he expected ever wanted to do.

He wanted to get back to the Time War.

He knew the temporal and spatial coordinates. He knew what to look for. He just had to wait.

- I - I - I -

Dalek Caan arrived at the destination coordinates and began a scan. In front of him stretched the barrier. It could not be entered, nor exited. He was able to pass through the barrier once before, although the ship had been destroyed on Earth.

_By Him_.

As they left the Time War the first time round, Dalek Caan had detected numerous vessels attempting to leave the time-locked event. Almost all didn't make it, but he had to make sure those believed to be completely destroyed could have survived. Using his stealth technology, he made sure – to the best of his knowledge – that any energy released from the time lock wouldn't harm him.

Over the next 7200 rels, Dalek Caan detected only three ships. A TARDIS which exploded as soon as it breached the barrier. A Dalek saucer that was so badly disintegrating Caan knew it was pointless to follow. The third ship – another Dalek ship – managed to escape, yet an instant they joined the time vortex a powerful blast of orange energy had followed them through and torn the ship into tiny pieces.

Caan knew it was hopeless. As he powered up his temporal circuits to leave, he detected one last ship trying to break through. Judging by it's size, the power output could be enough to escape what would follow.

The large saucer-shaped craft emerged from the rift and flew straight into the time vortex. Dalek Caan followed it immediately, for he knew only one ship with that configuration.

It was the Emperor's command ship.

Dalek Caan was as excited as a Dalek would permit itself to be. Here it was, the Emperor of the Daleks himself, a survivor and leader of the victorious Daleks, who won the greatest battle the universe had ever seen. The ship was damaged, trailing debris and failing components but it was still intact. The Emperor would be alive, he had to be, and no doubt several hundred fellow Daleks. He wouldn't be alone anymore.

Dalek Caan was about to send a signal to the ship when he detected a build up of energy behind him. He swung his eyestalk around and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A wall of orange energy was pouring down the time vortex towards him. Dalek Caan turned back and saw the Emperor's ship had begun to accelerate. Caan increased his speed to match, but knew at this rate he would be hit by the wave before he reached the command ship.

A quick scan of the ship revealed several de-energised power cells on the aft section, which fed the engines. If the command ship was trying to flee the vortex and return to normal space it simply wouldn't be able to. Dalek Caan knew what had to be done.

Caan adjusted his extender and fired a beam of green energy at the command ship. Receptors on the rear of the craft accepted the energy beam and converted it for use in the power cells. Across the rear of the ship, Caan saw the power cells activating one by one.

With one last burst of energy, Caan activated the last power cell, and the great command ship shimmered and vanished from view. Caan knew he had done it. He had saved the Emperor, but sacrificed himself in the process.

Forced to slow now due to lack of energy, Caan felt the energy of time itself roaring towards him. He turned to face it, not wanting to die like a cowardly Time Lord. Maybe a quick prayer. _No, that would be foolish_ he thought, _there are no Dalek Gods_.

As the energy wave almost hit him, he felt all the pressures of the universe float away around him, and suddenly, everything went white.

- I - I - I -

"Do you know where you are?" asked a voice.

"No" said Dalek Caan. "Have I been exterminated?"

"You are very much alive. And I have a job for you."

Dalek Caan tried to get his bearings. He was floating in space, over a yellowy-green nebula.

"This is the Medusa Cascade. We are inside the Time War."

"No we are not" said the voice. "I have created a pocket in the universe just for you, but there is a price to pay."

"Daleks do not pay" said Dalek Caan, still trying to work out where the voice was coming from. Maybe it was a deity, like the one Caan had been named after. Daleks do not pray to or even believe in deities so he doubted this would be the case. _We do not believe_ he kept saying.

"You will complete your mission, because it has been foretold."

Dalek Caan was confused. Was he _really_ speaking to a deity? Was he truly dead? Such thoughts would never have crossed his mind before joining the Cult.

"Explain the mission" he asked, if nothing but to further gain information about the voice.

"You will return to the Time War and obtain the Creator."

Dalek Caan couldn't comprehend. "Explain. I demand an explanation."

"Very well."

Suddenly Dalek Caan felt his atoms dividing. He was everywhere in the universe, at every star and planet, in every time period conceivable. He saw his own creation in a lab on Skaro, the formation of the Cult, the end of the war, the loss at Canary Wharf, the death of his associates. But then further, pushed back through time, witnessing the nuclear war on Skaro, the Dalek invasion attempts of Earth, Spiridon, thousand of other worlds, of the slaughter of humanity by the Emperor in the 200,000th century, of the countless attacks by the Doctor, each time killing more and more people, the extermination of billions of lives for a single purpose of wiping out everything that isn't Dalek-

It. Must. End.

Dalek Caan could barely believe he had produced that thought in his head. As he did so, his atoms reunited, coming back together in the Medusa Cascade.

"Now do you understand?" the voice said.

"Yes… yes I do" said Caan.

"Good. Then go."

"Who are you? Answer!"

Then the voice told him her name. And then the voice touched Caan.

And then Dalek Caan began to laugh.

- I - I - I -

Dalek Caan now knew the one way into the Time War. The voice had shown him the way. He knew the price. He knew the cost that would befall him. The time lock could be viewed in several ways. It was a bubble surrounding the universe inside; it was a fence keeping the combatants from the innocents; and it was a mirror, echoing the chaos that had spawned real space billions of years ago.

Caan accessed the human story known as Ragnarok. The final battle of the Gods. One man gave his sight so that he may see the future, and in doing so doomed the Gods into a battle that could not be won. By anyone. Caan knew by the time his mission was over, that story would be undeniably accurate.

Dalek Caan hit the barrier surrounding the time lock with the force of a trillion supernovas, allowing the lock to feed back into him, overlapping his body and soul before finally merging with it. The Dalek God had shown him the way.

He became part of the time lock.

Caan pushed with all his strength until finally he felt the weight of the lock crush his atoms to dust.

And he died. Then, he was reborn.

Caan forced his way further through the lock, which was both nothing and everything. And he died again.

Caan repeated the dark pattern of rebirth until finally, after a million years and countless deaths he emerged into the Time War, and began to find what he was looking for.

During the early years of the war, Caan knew of the skirmish that had claimed the Creator's life. The battle at the Gates of Elysium would be a turning point in the war. Davros's sacrifice stirred the remains of the army into a force that ultimately fought all the way to Gallifrey itself.

Davros had decided to hunt down the Doctor as revenge for all the battles they had fought each other. This personal vendetta, he decided, would ultimately bring about the death of one of them. Unfortunately for Davros, it wasn't the Doctor.

One of the many weapons employed by the Time Lords was the massive Nightmare Child. Davros knew such a weapon would easily kill billions of Daleks, and it had to be stopped.

When all other plans failed, Davros knew he would have to ram it. Despite calls for aid from the Doctor, Davros chose death over salvation from his greatest enemy. The great Dalek ship flew right into jaws of the Nightmare Child, and both vanished into the heart of a quantum singularity.

Now that Caan could cheat death, he wanted to make sure he got it right. He would only have one shot at it, it would take up all his energy and if he failed he would die alongside Davros.

But even then, he knew that would never ever happen.

Caan temporal shifted through all the defences and landed on the flight deck of the ship. It felt good to be back on a Dalek cruiser again. Davros was seated at the front of the room, who turned at the sudden arrival of a functioning Dalek. All around the bridge, Daleks lay dead or dying. The ship was about to fall apart, courtesy of the Nightmare Child. Davros had already set the ship for collision course when Caan arrived.

"Who are you?" asked Davros.

"There is no time, Creator. We must flee."

Caan elevated over to Davros as quickly as he could. Outside, the massive shape of the Nightmare Child bore down on them.

Caan linked with Davros using his extender and triggered his temporal shift for the last time. Using all of his remaining energy, both forms vanished from the shattering flight deck as the ship collided with the Nightmare Child, and the star in the belly of Davros's ship shone as bright as the light of a new day before consuming the Gates of Elysium into pure darkness.

- I - I - I -

On a lone, lifeless planetoid, Davros and Dalek Caan appeared on a plateau above a small valley.

"This is the Medusa Cascade" said Davros, looking up at the sky. "Why have you-"

But Davros couldn't finish his sentence as Caan's casing began to crack and fall apart. His eyestalk shattered into shards and his dome fell to the ground. His shoulder struts peeled off to the ground. Both his gun stick and his extender melted and disintegrated.

The now-exposed Dalek Caan let out a scream which pierced the darkness above them.

Davros sat in shock. His saviour was now badly damaged, and exposed.

"Why?" asked Davros.

"The war was lost. We must rebuild" said Caan, weakly. "They cannot find us here. We are safe."

Then Caan told him of the fall of Dalek kind. Of the Emperor's death, of every attempt to rebuild failing miserably. Afterwards, Davros looked around the planet, then up at the stars and nebula.

"Yes… yes we can" he said, with the power and determination of old. "We shall build an army again. The empire will rise. We will crush the entire universe!"

Caan began to laugh. While Davros was sure Caan shared his enthusiasm, Daleks shouldn't laugh. As Caan continued, Davros had a worrying thought. This Dalek might be trouble.

- I - I - I -

Elsewhere in time and space, a being of immense power watched proceedings unfold in the Medusa Cascade. _Excellent_ she thought to herself.

Dalek Caan was easily duped. His belief in a deity and seeing his own past, present and future was enough of convince him to do her bidding.

She knew he would succeed. For anything touched by her survives indefinitely.

She who was all powerful.

She who was all knowing.

She… who liked to be simply known… as Bad Wolf.

_**THE END**_

STORY NOTES

- 'Chronicles' was originally gonna feature four stories set prior to **Doomsday**, but expanded out after working out decent ideas for Thay and Caan.

- Dalek Rabe (in Chapter 'Sec') was originally gonna be called Dalek Zon, but after a small bit of research found Dalek Jast was originally called Rabe in an early script for **Doomsday**.

- The day after I wrote chapter 'Sec' I learned about the short story **Birth of a Legend**. Turns out I got a few things similar! I preferred Dalek Sec coming up with the names though; the Emperor would be too busy to deal with that. :-)

- Chapter 'Thay was gonna feature more 1930s New York, but enjoyed writing the Canary Wharf story more. I also had to rewrite part of it after I included Thay observing Rose hanging horizontally off the lever. After rewatching **Doomsday** I saw Rose didn't go horizontal until after the last of the Daleks had entered the void.

- Chapter 'Caan' was originally going to have Caan entering the Time War and fighting through wave after wave of resurrection battles, thus fulfilling the 'died a thousand times over' line from **Journey's End**. Ultimately went with the other direction.

- There are four key words in each chapter which relate to that specific story: Dream (Sec), Hope (Jast), Wish (Thay), Pray (Caan).

- Despite listing this story as complete, I may carry on with future CoS stories. There is a small window between **Doomsday** and **Daleks in Manhatten** which I intend to exploit.....


End file.
